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Attractive people help sell things.
A few years ago, M&S tried to show that their clothes were for ordinary women by having normal and natural women modelling them. They lost sales and reverted to attractive models. Attractive women, it appears, attract other women to buy things as they are aspirational.
In a similar vein, good looking men are used to model suits and other male clothing.
Good looking models of either gender are also seen on beaches in holiday ads etc. Fine.
Popping a barely clad young woman on the bonnet of a car says little for its performance or safety. It is simply a lure. It degrades men; it degrades the woman.
Suggesting that part of the perk for a cyclist of winning a race is a kiss from an attractive young woman does the same.
I'm not justifying it all, just pointing out this is part of wider social trends. I'm think I'm out of this discussion, too polarising, likely to cause shouting.
[Edit] The point I was trying to make that using pretty women to promote and sell things is prevalent throughout Western society and likely an inveitable result of living in a patriarchal, capitalist society, and for things to change requires a more fundamental shift in social attitudes and practises.